


S5 E13 The Warfare of Genghis Khan (or Time to Decide)

by JBNimble, JDPostEpisodeChallenge



Series: Career Planning [2]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s05e08 Shutdown, Episode: s05e13 The Warfare of Genghis Khan, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26933833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JBNimble/pseuds/JBNimble, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDPostEpisodeChallenge/pseuds/JDPostEpisodeChallenge
Summary: Things have been changing for Josh and Donna, and it is time to make some decisions.
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Series: Career Planning [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901551
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thank you to theelectriceel and kcat1971 for the opportunity and encouragement of this challenge. 
> 
> This is a post-ep, but it would help to read my previous story in the Career Planning series.

My building has a nice stoop. I never really appreciated it until the midterm elections during our first term. I was still recovering from the shooting at the time, and Donna was limiting my visitors, so on that election night the two of us sat out on my stoop while Sam, CJ and Toby dropped by. I hadn't used it much since then, but it felt like the right night to change that. 

I had spent the evening with Alex, an administrator from NASA. She was trying to get me interested in some upcoming NASA projects, so she took me out to a field away from some of the city lights, and we spent an hour looking through a nice telescope she had set up. I hadn't really looked at the stars, or considered astronomy since I was a kid. I used to be fascinated by it, writing reports about Galileo and boring my parents with explanations of comet tails. Then I grew up. NASA became a line item on the budget, and I hadn't looked at the stars with any real interest in decades. Well, Alex had succeeded on some level. Even after spending more than an hour looking through her telescope, I still found myself sitting on my stoop, staring up at the stars. 

I leaned back against the steps and pulled out my cell phone. 

"Josh, do you know that it's almost eleven?" She was exasperated with me. This afternoon, her voice had been cool and aloof. Of course, at the time, she had been asking why I was going stargazing with Alex. Exasperated was better than aloof, but I still had some work to do.

"Yeah, did you know Jupiter has sixty-one moons?"

"Really? You called me to boast about your wonderful date?" 

"Donna, I had a _wonderful_ time, I did. She set up a telescope and I got an amazing view of a nebula -- it was something else. But, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." I let the pause stretch while I tried to decide if I had actually picked out Mars.

"Yes?" she finally prompted. 

"A _wonderful_ date would not include being home _alone_ at ten-thirty. And if you think some factoid about the number of moons around Jupiter constitutes boasting about a date, you really do need to get out more."

"I didn't know you cared for astronomy." The ice had melted a bit. She was genuinely curious. Still not my goal, though. 

"Well, not really, not since I was a kid. I used to love it, though. I never had access to a telescope, except for a few planetarium trips, but I used to love looking through books about the planets and stars, and then looking at the night sky to see if I could match anything to the books." Sometimes, you have to give a little to get a little. 

"Well, you know, planetariums are still around. And given the few hours you leave the office, they might actually fit into your schedule." And there it was. That was the warm voice I called to hear. Then she continued. 

"You don't need _NASA_ , just to look at the stars." Okay, so warm, but also a bit pointed. 

"I'm sorry we couldn't get together tonight."

"We didn't have anything planned." Listen to that faux innocence. 

"No, but I know you wanted to hear what Bregstone had to say. I figured we'd meet up after, like we usually do."

It had started just after reelection. She and I had a discussion about her career, and suddenly Donna was back to asking a thousand questions about everyone she met. She wanted to know who they were, what they did and how they got there. Even people she had personally researched, she wanted to know more, wanted to know the stuff her research didn't cover. She also wanted more detail about what I did in my various meetings. 

We started getting together to talk, a few times a month at first, but it quickly became two or three times each week. It gave us both a chance to think about what was happening around us, a bit of debriefing. It always started and ended just the two of us, but people would see us sitting in my office or eating in the map room, and they would stop in to ask a question or bounce ideas off of us. On a given evening, she and I might discuss a trade bill with legislative affairs, debate the meaning of crime statistics with a senator, or maybe speculate on Toby's blood pressure the next time the President changed his mind about an upcoming speech. It seemed silly that she called these our 'team meetings' because the _team_ was forever in flux.

No matter who joined us, we always ended our meeting with just the two of us, even if we had to break up the group and find someplace else to talk alone. The end of the meeting was always a preview of my upcoming schedule. There was usually one or two agenda items that she was most interested in, or that she knew I was most focused on, and she would want to know what I was planning. It was nice having someone to talk strategy with, especially recently. 

I couldn't really talk strategy with most people. Most people have always thought I'm nuts, doing what I do, even friends like CJ. I did have people that actually understood my day-to-day work, but the people who shared my professional interests were not necessarily allies I could bounce ideas off of. They were people like Matt Skinner and Chris Wick, who I could trust with my life or my girlfriend, but not my political strategy. 

It used to be that I could talk to Leo about these things, but we had been strained for a while now -- since the shutdown.

* * *

It was a bad time, and not just for me.

We were a few days into the shutdown, and things were not looking any better. With little to do, I mostly just sat in my office, and the slouching was making my back ache. I sat up straight and tried again to focus on the paperwork in front of me -- busy work, really. I had some ideas on how to cater a state dinner with neither staff nor funds. I also had notes from my calls trying to get Social Security checks sent out. My renewed focus did not last long, but for now I had already done what I could on both tasks. 

I kept thinking back to Donna’s comment on the phone earlier. 

_"I wanna come in and do my job."_

I wanted to do my job too, but the position of Deputy Chief Of Staff seemed to be taken, and I was wasting my time here. 

Leo thought I would be concerned about losing my title, but an empty title was more insulting than getting fired. I could get other jobs. I had been offered positions with various congressional campaigns, academia... Hell, I could work for myself, consulting for various candidates. I had options. The reason I chose this title and this job, the reason I chose to make less money, work crazy hours, and worry the hell out of my mother, was because I could make a difference here. If I could not do the job, would not be allowed to do the job, what was the point in staying?

Well, there was one reason to stay; Donna and I have been a great team. Of course, Donna could leave soon herself. She had been looking for more responsibility. While she already had more responsibility than any other assistant in the building, I knew there were limitations on how much more I could give her. What she really needed was a promotion, but she and I had discussed the options. Under the current circumstances, moving up would be troublesome, but moving out was very possible. With a bit more experience and focus, she would be a good candidate for an appointment, but that was still down the road a bit. Members of congress had more leeway to hire whomever they wanted, and political consultants had pretty much no rules. She’d had other job offers, some she given careful consideration. She had options. 

We both had options. Either of us could leave at any time. Either one or...

Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked up the phone again. 

"Josh Lyman’s office," she answered automatically. 

"Are you still at the shutdown party?" 

"Well," she sighed, "'party' might be overstating it a bit. It’s mostly a bunch of us sitting in a bar speculating on how long this will last, and making sure none of the comments about our collective bosses get surreptitiously recorded." 

"Yeah, that does sound fun." She better not have been talking about me. "Can you meet me for coffee? Just real quick, I need to talk about something. Are you close by?"

"I know I complained about running to Kinko’s, Josh, but if this is something-"

"I don’t need a fax," I interrupted. "I need to- We need to talk."

"All right, how about the coffee shop by the thing? Fifteen minutes?" Right answer, but her voice sounded a bit wary. 

"Meet you then."


	2. Chapter 2

So, Josh was actually interested in Astronomy. I could feel myself smirking as I put down the phone. I admit, I was worried when Josh decided to go out with the NASA administrator. I think most anyone would have been. Neither of us had really dated anyone since, well not since I broke up with Jack. Amy had come snooping around, but nothing had really come of it. Our work schedules had always made personal time precious, and what little Josh had lately he had devoted to our team meetings. It didn't really leave time for much else. Oddly, we both seemed to be fine with that.

The team meetings -- Josh hates when I call them that -- sound like a formal thing, but they've been anything but formal. They started just after reelection, and we never schedule them, but usually they happen a few times each week. In theory it's just the two of us, but Josh being Josh, people would come in with questions and join the discussion for a while. The nice thing is that at least part of it really was just the two of us, discussing upcoming issues, planning for bills and debates, even if Josh had to kick people out to make it happen. I was thrilled when I had assignments of my own to discuss with him. In the last year, Josh had sent me on a few more trips to talk with state delegations, and I took a couple of sessions of my own during Leo's latest Big Block of Cheese Day.

The meetings were important and I did plan my week around making time for them, but things really changed when he left the White House -- during the shutdown, of all times -- to meet with me.

* * *

I was surprised to see Josh already waiting in the coffee shop. Odder still, he did not even notice me. He was anxious when he called, and being early seemed to confirm that something was bothering him, but I expected him to be bouncing on his toes and keeping a look out for me. Instead, he was sitting quietly staring out the window, right up until I sat down. 

"What’s up?" 

Josh gave me a hesitant smile, though it never reached his eyes. He remained quiet for a moment, and it gave me time to look at him. I was vexed with the current situation, and I knew he felt the same, but it didn’t look like it. I was struck again by how still he was — frustrated energy would usually be another reason for him to be bouncing around. He looked down at the table for a moment before he finally spoke up. 

"Do you like working with Angela?" 

"I'm sorry?" 

He looked up, but not at me. He seemed to be scanning the room. 

"Do you like working with Angela?" 

"Well, I..." I fought the shiver going down her my back. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I wasn't trying to stump you, Donna. It's a simple question. Do you like working with her?" His eyes continued to roam the room. 

"And I want to know why you're asking." 

Finally he looked me in the eye. 

"If she... If she becomes Leo's Deputy, do you want to continue working for her?"

"WHAT THE -"

And that got a real reaction out of him. 

"Donna, keep your voice down! We don't need to-" he stopped and looked around again. When it did not look like we had drawn any notable attention, he leaned back and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. He was more tired than I thought. 

"Josh, you’re overreacting. I told you Leo wasn’t going to send you an invitation, you just need to go in there." 

"I did," he responded with a smile, but no humor. "I went in right after we sent everyone home. As soon as I started talking Leo kicked me out." 

"Kicked you out?" He had to have misunderstood, right? 

"He asked me to step out and make sure the upcoming state dinner did not get derailed."

"And that's all he's had you doing?" Now the shiver was a full-on chill. 

"It shouldn’t be too surprising -- he took away most of my real work after Carrick defected, right? And I do finally have something constructive to work on, Social Security, but that didn't come from Leo, did it?" He was still smiling, and there was a bit of humor to it now. "Look, I'm not leaving yet. There’s too much going on at the moment and I may still be able to help. I need to decide what comes next, but I won't make a move until we have a new budget. I just wanted to know if you..."

"If I, what?"

"I need to know if you need anything from me. If you like working for Angela, I'm sure you can stay on. If you'd rather, I can try to arrange a transfer, or..." He seemed to have stalled. Great, he couldn’t talk and I couldn’t breathe. Before I could jump to too many conclusions, Josh took a deep breath and continued. "If you’re interested, you could come with me."

At least now he was looking me in the eye. There was no laughter there, and I was surprised at how steady he was. He had his professional face on. When I have seen that no-nonsense expression, it was usually aimed at someone else. There was no fear, and no hesitation, which made me think I was reading too much into this. Was this just a job offer? I had to know what he was really offering. Without a word, I stood up, grabbed him by the sleeve, and all but dragged him out of the shop. Josh protested a bit, but never pulled away, and I continued on, heading for a park a block away.

That stoic expression of his scares me because this is a side of Josh I cannot read very well, though he has tried to explain it to me. This is Josh in negotiation mode, and I am not sure his style, or styles really, can be taught. He has different negotiation styles, depending on his... well, his opponent, as he would say. 

He is known for being excitable and passionate -- some would just call him loud and obnoxious, and he can be that. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make a wayward member of congress cower and get in line. This group he simply calls the Cowards, appropriately. 

For another group, the Dealmakers, he is always watching, researching, or more likely having me research, their voting records and the conditions in their district, so he knows what they want or need or are interested in dealing. For those meetings, he walks in knowing what deal he wants, what deal he is willing to accept, and what deal he will walk away from. That is where both Josh and I get into trouble sometimes, but in different ways. Josh will get so invested in whatever task Leo or the President has set for him, or in just the thrill of beating whichever congressman is sitting in front of him, that he will consciously consider caving on what he rationally knows should be a deal-breaker. Me, I just end up so attached to the issue or principle I am negotiating for, that I will rationalize caving. Oddly, we each recognize the other’s issues, and when we have a chance to talk it out, we can each keep the other from caving in these situations. 

Still another group, according to Josh, is the True Believers. These are the people that take a stand on an issue, be it guns, taxes or farm subsidies, not because the issue polls well or has a powerful lobby, but because they actually believe in the cause. This is a group Josh often respects, and when they do engage in a discussion, these are the arguments Josh has trained for his entire life. He will patiently sit and talk for days on end about the meaning of a section of the constitution, the intent of the founding fathers, and the impact on the modern world. He and Matt Skinner, despite being friends, disagree on some big issues, and they can argue face-to-face for hours, then one will leave a voice mail a few days later, the other will respond with a fax, followed by an email and paper airplanes for all I know. There are actually three of these discussions ongoing at the moment, but the number varies as issues merge and split. 

The True Believers should not be confused with those people that believe in a principle so firmly, so blindly, that they cannot discuss it rationally. Most commonly, this comes up with religious issues and gun ownership, but it can also come up with freedom of speech, minority issues or a variety of other topics. These people Josh refers to as simply Wingnuts, and the only nice thing he can say about them is that they rarely flip-flop, so they make vote counts easy. He generally does not negotiate with this group if he can help it. When he must, he says it is just a matter of finding the same weakness I mentioned above, the same one we all have: look for a way to put them in a situation where they are so blinded by something they want immediately, they are willing to compromise their long-term principles. These discussions always leave me feeling a bit slimy and, to Josh’s credit, he feels the same way, which is why he tries not to work with these people. 

Although it was a weekday, the government was closed, so there were a lot of people on the streets and it took us a while to reach the park. The park was pretty busy, meaning there were a lot of people occupying benches and open space on a beautiful day. Still, I was able to find a shady spot of grass with some privacy. I sat, pulled him down next to me and said, "Ask me that again."

"Damn Donna, it was a simple question. Do you- Would you.." He took a deep breath and tried again. "If I leave the White House... in the near future, would you want to stay at the White House, or come with me?" 

"What would I be doing?"

"I thought you were tuned to me," He replied with a chuckle. "I don’t actually know what you’d be doing. Hell, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I don’t have any plans yet. I was in the process of making plans, for both of us, when I realized I was making some big assumptions. I was just speculating on what you would want to do." He paused to look around us some more. "I told you the time would come when one of us was ready to walk out the door for good, and that we should talk when that time comes, so that's what I'm doing. I'm not leaving today, I can't walk away like... I can't leave in the middle of this, but I am... looking." 

Well, that was encouraging -- it was not just a job offer. He didn’t have some job to fill that he thought I could do. He wanted to include me in his plans before he even had plans. Still...

"Is this just professional?" I found myself asking aloud. "I know we make a good team, are you just asking... Is it just-" And he laughed at me. 

Yes, it was a nervous laugh, and he was shaking his head, but it was genuine laughter. 

"Donnatella Moss, if I was thinking of leaving the White House to start a team somewhere else, some think tank or my own consultancy, whatever, and I wanted Larry or Ed, or hell, even CJ to join my team, would the conversation be this awkward?" He spread his arms gesturing vaguely around us.

And the penny dropped. I could only shake my head. 

"You’re damn right it wouldn’t. Even when I recruited Sam, who is like a brother to me, there was nothing awkward about it. It was jovial." Now he had a far-away look in his eyes and I knew he was in New York at that moment, reliving the early days of the first campaign. "We were laughing, glad we would be working together, but the discussion wasn't really personal. It was about a job, an important job, the real thing, but just a job, just professional." Suddenly, he was back, and looking right at me. "It is never just professional with you, Donnatella. Never just... well, never just anything. There is always more to it." 

I grabbed one of his hands before he started flailing again, and replied "Thank you." That was exactly what I needed to hear. Now that the moment seemed a bit lighter, I had to tease him a bit though. 

"Why only the two choices?" I asked. 

"What?"

"Why can I only choose between working for Angela or working for you? What if I want to do something else?"

"Well, first off, I want you working _with_ me, not _for_ me. If you want to work for or with someone else, then you can talk to the various yahoos that have offered you congressional aide positions in the last year, and find your own way." My surprise must have shown because he had a good laugh at that. "What you didn’t think I would know? They still need to work with me, you know. You didn’t think at least one or two would let me know before they tried to poach my right hand? Skinner’s been my friend for years, you didn’t think he would say something? I have to say, I am a little hurt you never discussed any of them with me. I gave you plenty of opportunity."

"I can’t believe-" I had been so happy just a moment ago, and now I was rapidly heading towards incensed. "I can’t believe my getting a job offer depended on your permission. That you could-"

"Calm down, Norma Rae. Did you get the job offers?"

"Well, yeah." I forced myself to take a deep breath, and that actually took me back a bit. Did he want someone else to recruit me?

"None of them depended on my permission, in fact no one asked for my permission, they were just giving me a heads up." Pause. "Okay, a few of the cowards asked my permission, but no one you would want to work for. I would never prevent you from hearing offers like that. Not to say I’d just let you leave. Hell, I’d try to talk you out of it any way I could, but I would never prevent you from getting the offers. Did you really think I would do that?"

And now I was shaking my head. "No, it just seemed... It seemed like, well, you have been known to interfere with my personal life in the past. And, as you said, it’s never just professional between us." I leaned back on my arms and stretched my legs out before me. "I never talked about any of the job offers with you because I didn't really consider taking any of them."

"Really," he raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were considering some of them."

"Mostly, I just used them to sort of gauge... my status, I guess. Don't get me wrong. Our team meetings are incredible, and having policy people ask my opinion on what we can feasibly get passed through congress, that's amazing. Sometimes though, it feels like a tight little circle of people, insulated, and while my status in that group is... a real ego boost, I need to know how people outside that group see me. Not because I want to work for them, but because whatever comes next, I probably need to meet with some of them at that level, and I need to know if people like that will take me seriously."

Josh nodded solemnly and looked out across the park. 

"Yeah, I get that. Your credibility, at least in the beginning, is a concern." He pursed his lips. 

"What?"

"Well," he dragged it out. "I think I know something that could help with that."

"Really? What?"

"Next time, when someone suggests you take a meeting with a leader in the communist party, you should probably turn it down."

"Josh!"


	3. Chapter 3

It's funny thinking back on it now. I never did answer him. He needed to ask, and I needed to hear the question. That's all we ever needed. We needed the reassurance, and now we had it. We had always been very tactile, but now we were just ridiculous, though still in small ways. His hand seemed to have taken up permanent residence in the small of my back. His ties and jackets were in constant need of straightening. 

The biggest change was just the drop in anxiety. We both knew there was something there, and it was going to happen, but we were taking our time with it. Josh had always flirted shamelessly, and perhaps his innuendos got a bit more outrageous, but he never pushed. 

We didn't actually discuss it, but I knew why I wanted to hold off on things. Now that we were perhaps just weeks or a few months from leaving, it seemed silly to do anything that would reflect poorly on Josh or the administration. We were about to have it all, and we had already waited this long. 

I think he was more concerned about guys asking me out than rushing our own relationship. As much as I teased him about jumping to conclusions, his sixth sense about these things was pretty good. A week ago, he had given me a list of negotiating points for a meeting I was taking with a congressional aide named Kevin Turner. The last point on his list was "When he asks you to dinner, the answer is no." I had to smother a laugh when I saw the note, but I couldn't help laughing out loud when Kevin ended the meeting by suggesting a date. There was just no easy way to explain my laughter, either. 

Now though, I was seeing the flip side. Power brokers being who they are as a demographic, the majority of people Josh worked with were old men. But now, this administrator from NASA had walked in and rather quickly asked Josh out for a night of stargazing. Josh had gotten out of the office and enjoyed himself, and that was a good thing, something to be encouraged. But it did not have to be with her. I had to find a way to tell him that.

I had known Josh would call tonight, just like I had known nothing was going to happen between them. And I can proudly say I only repeated those two thoughts to myself a _few million times_ before the phone rang. 

It was time. Josh had made his gesture, statement really, and it was time for me to make mine. Yes, we had waited and I did not want to create a scandal for Josh or the administration, but it was also time to move things forward. We could do that and still be discreet. We were already spending most of our time together, and I did not want to put an end to our team meetings. I needed a way to tell him we should spend time together away from the office, away from politics. 

I needed to do some shopping -- too bad it's 11 o'clock at night. I'll have to do it after work tomorrow. 

* * *

I had reading to do, but I was too distracted to get anywhere with it. I was expecting to meet with Donna tonight, but when I suggested we grab some coffee and head to a conference room, she begged off. Said she had some shopping to do. Oddly, that wasn't even what was distracting me. Donna and I had been circling each other for weeks now. Okay, we had been circling each other for years now, but this was different. We both knew now that we wanted to move forward, but Donna seemed to be hesitating. I kept asking myself what I needed to do, but I wasn't getting anywhere with that question, or my reading, so the door buzzer was actually a welcome interruption. 

When I opened the door, the only thing I saw was a telescope with a bow on it. I suddenly had a horrible sinking feeling. I almost looked up and down the hallway, but managed to restrain myself. Assuming Alex was there, I could not make eye contact until I figured out how to react. What do I...?

"Disappointed that it's me?" Came the familiar voice. 

"Oh, thank god!" I exhaled as I turned to see donna in my neighbor's doorway. "I had no idea what I was supposed to say."

"Funny that, when you seem to know what I am supposed to say." The sarcasm was dripping off her. "What was that quote you gave me? Oh yes, 'When she asks you to dinner, the correct answer is no!' Something like that, wasn't it?"

"Ha, ha."

And doing that Donna change of direction she is so good at, she was suddenly bouncing and all but skipped to me and then past me. 

"What do you think? Is it good enough?" She bent over to peer at the telescope. 

"It seems great, not that I'm an expert. What made you...?" I gestured to the telescope. "I mean, thank you! But, what...?"

"I always knew you were a geek, but I just thought you were a _political_ geek. I hadn't realized you were also a _science_ geek." I wasn't sure how to respond to that, but with a quick glance my way, she continued. "You know, that combination of furrowed brow and dimples should be illegal."

"Wow, you really are all over the place tonight!" I laughed.

"I'm serious. During your recovery, when I wouldn't let you near anything work-related, you inhaled everything you could find on the Grand Unification Theory. I know you would not normally have spent the evening with Alex, but I don't think you could resist the astronomy. Also, the way you talked about Voyager, that wasn't just being eloquent, that was genuine interest. Am I right?"

I gestured her into my apartment, and we carefully moved the telescope, which gave me a moment to compose myself. Thinking and talking were usually simultaneous for me. This think first approach was taking some effort. Once we had the telescope safely arranged, I looked at her. 

"I really liked science in grade school. I enjoyed learning about batteries, and working on physics experiments, but I was never one of those students where stuff came easy. I had to study hard, work at it. While I enjoyed the sciences, at some point I had to make a decision about what I really wanted to focus on." I shrugged. 

"So, not really a vocation, but maybe it could be an avocation. You really do need to get out of the office a bit, be something other than Leo's deputy. If this is something you want to do, why not see where it goes?" 

"Are we still talking about the telescope?"

"A little of column A, a little of column B," she shrugged, but it was somehow elegant when she did it. "Josh, you need something like this, something that is just fun. I was joking when I said it, but it really does kind of work well with your schedule. And maybe, we could do it together?" 

"You do make it sound good. I like the fact that you haven't called it a hobby. 'Avocation' makes it sound more grown up. But are you serious about doing it together? I've never heard you express much interest in astronomy."

"Well, I have to admit I got more and more interested as I researched the telescopes. I really got excited as I realized what you could see with a fairly compact one. I thought you would need to use something larger to see some of that stuff, which is silly since you told me you saw a nebula. Add in the idea that we could do something together, something that wasn't work. And if that something has us spending long evenings together, outside of town, away from prying eyes..." She trailed off to a question. 

"Prying eyes?" I made a show of looking around my living room.

We shared a laugh, but I was already regretting the joke. I knew this was an opening, and I could not let it slip away. I reached out and pulled her to me.

"Does this mean...?" She simply answered with a kiss. 

* * *

Some time later, after an all-too-brief make-out session, we were on the mall. It was not an ideal place for stargazing, but we wanted to make sure we knew how to set everything up before we tried to do it in complete darkness. 

"Donna, I do appreciate the gesture, but we can always do things together. You don't need an excuse, and you didn't need to buy me a telescope!" She squeezed my hand, and I stepped back so we could swap places. She bent to the telescope, and I took over the star chart she had printed.

"Oh, I didn't." 

I could feel myself stop. I looked at her. I looked at the promotional tags still hanging off the telescope. Then I looked back at her.

"So, if you didn't..." I had that sinking feeling again. 

She looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes twinkling. 

"The telescope's not from you?" I asked dumbly.

"Technically, the telescope's from you," she replied, bending back to the eyepiece. "You really should keep better track of your credit cards."


End file.
